Android Sales Jump 886%, Tops US Smartphone Market

Android smart phone shipments grow 886% year-on-year in Q2 2010, according to a report released by Canalys. While the overall smartphone market grew by 64% annually worldwide during this period. Nokia retained a substantial lead in the worldwide smartphone market in, achieving a 38% market share. The company shipped a 23.8 million smartphones during the quarter, representing growth of 41% on a year ago. "But Nokia’s market dominance is not as unassailable as it once was, with its performance outpaced by growth in the smart phone market as a whole," the report says.

At the same time, shipments of RIM’s BlackBerry smartphones grew by 41%, retaining the second position with 18% share. Whereas, the iPhone maker Apple showed the second largest growth in the smartphone sector with 61% growth in the same period and secures 13% market share.

"The latest release of our detailed and complete country-level smartphone shipment data for Q2 2010 clearly reveals the impressive momentum Android is gaining in markets around the world," said Chris Jones, VP and Principal Analyst, Canalys.

The United States smartphone market grew 41% year on year. It is the largest smart phone market in the world by a significant margin, with 14.7 million units accounting for 23% of global shipments in Q2 2010. Android devices collectively represented a 34% share of the US market in the quarter, and with growth of 851% Android became the largest smartphone platform in the country.

"The story in the Asia Pacific region is similarly optimistic around Android," noted senior analyst, TY Lau. "Android devices are gaining good traction in markets such as mainland China and South Korea, with growing numbers of consumers wanting more sophisticated smart phones."

Growth in the worldwide smart phone market reflects the increasing importance of smartphones in device vendors’ and operators’ handset portfolios, as growing numbers of consumers appear eager to engage with mobile applications and connected services. "Expect to see smart phones accounting for a growing proportion of the wider mobile phone market as they become increasingly affordable to more customers," said Pete Cunningham, senior analyst, Canalys.